We're Multiplying...

Proof!  There's a new Oakley coming in September...

Butterflies

We had to work on Thursday and Friday, so Ed and Lynn took the Turibus up to the pyramids and then went to the Anthropology museum.

Saturday, we packed up some snacks and headed out to Piedra Herrada. Even though it doesn't look like it from my pictures, there were tons of butterflies in big clusters on the trees that would all take off at the same time with each gust of wind, and it was just a magical as always!

What was not so magical were the caballitos, especially for Autumn. My "guide" wouldn't hold the reins, so I was in charge of my own little horse which meant that I had to pay a slight amount of attention to keeping it from walking off the cliff! We all made it up and down, safe and sound.

When we got to Mexico City, we drove over to the Ciudadela Artesania, which is the arts and crafts "mall". After about an hour of shopping, there was a huge hail/rain storm, which immediately flooded the whole place in ice water since the "roof" is basically a pile of tarps, pieces of plastic and metal sheeting and other assorted garbage. Luckily, we made it back to the car without getting totally soaked. On the way home, we stopped at Villa Maria for our last dinner together.

The next morning we had a fantastic breakfast in the sun at Ivoire before we had to drop Ed and Lynn off at the airport. It was a great visit, and we had a ton of fun! 

 Autumn and Lynn mounting up!

 Look at all the pony tails!

 It was pretty cold today, and the butterflies were mostly in their oyamel tree clusters.

 More cluster-cam!

 Clusterific!

 Hibernating fun

 Say Monarch!

 Flying about

 View of the forest...reminds me of home!

 Autumn pretending to be happy to be back on the horse-ito

Our 35 peso roses (about $2.75!)

We bought them off a pickup truck!

Thanks for the great time!
See you soon!

Guanajuato - 3

We got up and grabbed breakfast on the square before heading home. The trip was uneventful except that there was an organ donation campaign going on all around us including some cheerleaders and many people dressed up as organs! It was a treat to say the least!

It's not every day that you see a Heart, a Bone and a Pair of Eyeballs coming down the street when you're having coffee!

Guanajuato - 2

This morning we got up and had breakfast at the hotel. Lynn ordered the atole, a very traditional corn drink, that practically made the rest of us throw up just looking at it!

Today was dedicated to museums, so we toured the Teatro Juarez, the Mueso del Pueblo de Guanajuato, and Diego Rivera's childhood home. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant called "Van Gogh's Ear" which was good despite the name. Afterward we starting walking to the Mummy Museum. The map said it was 500 meters away (1500 feet), but failed to mention that it was 1500 feet straight up a cliff. After dragging ourselves up about a hundred flights of stairs through a very sketchy neighborhood, we ended up at the town cemetery (the source of the mummies!). We asked directions from a few locals and follows some additional "signs" (see below), we finally got there, and it was gross! Autumn wouldn't even go in! Ed, Lynn and I spent about 15 minutes inside, then called a cab to get back to the hotel ASAP.

We had dinner at a nice little Italian place with balconies overlooking the Jardin de la Union. After dinner, we strolled around town and then headed to bed early.

 Teatro Juarez at night!

 Inside the theater

 Ed and Autumn pretending to watch a show

 Another beautiful, sunny day

 In the Jardin outside the hotel

 Autumn in a very disturbing head cut-out a the city museum

 Skull and gun street art

 Autumn and Diego

 On our way to lunch...look at that paint color!

 Inside and outside el Alhondiga (which was confusing at first because it sounds like "meatball" in Spanish)

This was the town granary where the Spanish holed up during the Mexican Revolution. A guy called El Pipian burned down the doors and the Spanish met their doom. He's the local town hero with the statue from yesterday!

 A mural of Miguel Hidalgo..another revolutionary hero.

 On the way to Mummies! EEK!

We should have taken the road and the signs as a hint that this was not for us!

One of the many churches all lit up at night

Guanajuato - 1

We hit the highway after Dolores Hidalgo and drove through the countryside and over a mountain pass to Guanajuato. It was a old mining town so the streets were twisty, turny and sometimes former mine tunnels. After we wound our way up, down and around, we made it to the hotel and squeezed the car into the world's tiniest parking garage. Autumn checked us in at the hotel and we dropped off the bags. The hotel was a cool, old colonial type building (like everything in Guanajuato). 

We grabbed a bite to eat in Jardin de la Union, and then headed up to El Pipian via the funicular for great views above the town. Afterward, we toured around town, peeped churches and had a very relaxing afternoon. We shopped and got a great Javier Servin vase in the nice part of town, and visited the disgusting Mercado Hidalgo in the bad part of town! Autumn got us a great restaurant recommendation for cheap Mexican food at Casa Ofelia. Yum!

 Our super-colonial hotel!

 Colors of Guanajuato

Ye olde Michoacana...how I love thee!

 Looks safe to me!

 El Pipian

aka - The man who burned down the doors to the Alhondiga enabling the Mexican rebels to break into the town fort during the Mexican Revolution!!

 Say cheese!

 Views of the town from El Pipian

 Ed & Lynn

 

Colorful town...so packed!

 Old church

 Older church!

 Autumn working the world's largest abacus

Autumn in the Internet Zone Throne!

Dolores Hidalgo

After breakfast with the Rotarians, we on our historic side trip out to Dolores Hidalgo, the birthplace of the Mexican Revolution. Once we finally got the car parked, we visited Miguel Hidalgo's church, the original "Grito" balcony, and a number of other historic sites. About 15 minutes later, we were ready to go, so we piled back into the car and continued on our way to Guanajuato.

 Bienvenidas al Centro Historico de Dolores Hidalgo!

 Ready to peep a church!

 Que cute!

It's so tiny!

 Light and bright!

 Hola Miguel!

 Autumn, Lynn and Ed in front of Miguel's church

 So much carving!

 Ooh!

 From this church, Miguel Hidalgo started the Mexican uprising against the Spanish!

 The original "El Grito" balcony!

  More original "El Grito" balconies!

All done!

Back on the road to Guanajuato!